Trip to Cambridge - this week's book buying, cd sales

This week's book buying is partially boosted by the sale of half a dozen CDs. Today's purchases include three other books by Alberto Manguel for a total of just £10 secondhand, including what looks like another really good book, The Library at Night. Also a recent book by Anne Fadiman whose Ex Libris is one of my favourite books and one I have been re-reading recently. Also a book of readings on Neo-Platonist philosophy (including Proclus) and finally - for a complete change - Kim Cattrall's Sexual Intelligence. This years book purchases total £279 so far but are offset by CD sales of £127 for a net spend of £152.
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Rather a nice photo of Kim Catrall I thought. I was never a huge fan of Kim Cattrall in Sex and the City, but I did rather like her in one of the early Star Trek films

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So off to Cambridge as Emma has arranged for us to have another "formal" meal at Trinity with her. We travelled across after lunch so we had time for a few other things. Linda has bought Emma a new ball gown for this years last May Ball. And while there were sorting that out, I discovered that the Cambridge University bookshop was having a "2 for 3" offer on books from their Cambridge Companion series. And as luck would have it, there are three such books that I wanted, none of which are avilable cheaply secondhand. So I have bought the CC to Dante, Renaissance Philosophy and Arabic Philosophy

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For the rest of the afternoon we attempt to assist Emma with her summer trip planning. She has booked a month in Asia already starting mid-July and is working on a trip to Africa in September before starting work in November.

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Our formal dinner is all very nice. I have to wear a suit, which I am not keen on, but otherwise it is all good. It is always odd to see Emma in her academic gown and to see how unphased she is by the whole thing (where Linda and I think it is an amazing thing to do). of course if I am accepted to Oxford we could go to formal hall there.

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I chatted a bit with Emma's friend Abby, the theology student. In this jobs market, it is a really brave choice to have done such a subject at University. Still I would have interviewed a Cambridge theology graduate when I was at Cambridge. Such a person would be bound to be interesting to have around I would have said. But not sure how Abby is getting on with the idea of a job - seems she is joining the vast group who are taking enforced gap years next year (as are many of Emma's friends)

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Linda sleeps all the way home which I listen to some gawd-awful experimental classical music on Radio 3. But at least it kept me awake. Sounded like a recording of various instruments being dropped down a flight of stairs